Friday, 29 August 2014

The meal literally took me 15 minutes to whip up, with no fuss at all. I used Shabu Shabu steak which is a really tender, very thin slice of aged beef for the schnitzel but you could really used any type of 'minute steak' to save time. Trust me, there is no fun in hammering meat when your stomach is rumbling.

For the sauce I used whatever I had in the fridge, half a carton of cream, honey, a little dijon mustard, milk, parmesan and a splash of chicken stock. I steamed some green beans and garnished with honeyed goats cheese (my new addiction) to cut through the sweetness. It was delicious, if I do say so myself!

I saved a few slices of beef for lunch the next day when I also took the photos, hence the cherry tomatoes in place of the beans. Just for your information, the cherry tomatoes worked so deliciously well with the goats cheese, it has inspired my next salad recipe!

Beef Schnitzel - Ingredients

6 slices of Shabu Shabu meat (or any minute steak)

2 C seasoned bread crumbs

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp butter

canola oil

Mustard Cream Sauce - Ingredients

2/3 C single cream

1/4 C milk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp mustard seeds

dash of good quality chicken stock

pinch of nutmeg, freshly grated if possible

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

To serve

1/2 C honeyed goats cheese

green beans or your choice of greens.

Prepare your schnitzel by coating it first in bread crumbs, followed by the egg (let excess drip off), then bread crumbs again to finish. Do this with the rest of meat. Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and steam your greens.

In another saucepan, make the sauce by heating all ingredients over low heat, stirring to ensure the honey does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Allow it to simmer whilst your meat is cooking.

In a frypan, heat the butter and oil together. Once sizzling you can begin to cook your meat. Allow enough time to just crisp the coating as the steak will cook almost immediately.

Plate your meat and beans, pour over the sauce and top the beans with goats cheese.

Note: the above recipe will serve 2 very hungry people or 3 not so hungry. Remember you can use the leftovers in a sandwich the next day!

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

It's been quite busy in my home the past few weeks, first was Eid followed by family holidaying in Dubai, an upcoming Indian wedding as well as nightly events and weekly trips to Mena Bazaar. Those of you have been to Mena Bazaar in the middle of summer must know how tiring it has made me! Sadly, my blog suffered for the most part with little to no posts. So today is an update of an old recipe from 2013 that I had almost forgotten about.

I was asked by a friend to make 40 of these little dessert pots for a vintage themed High Tea event. Judging by numbers, or the lack thereof, these were a hit! I used the same recipe as in my White Chocolate + Strawberry Pie, the only exception being that I doubled the recipe on this occasion. I ended up with extra filling, so I estimate that the doubled recipe could make up to 50 pots depending on the size.

Wednesday, 6 August 2014

Although there are only two dishes I like at the American chain, Rosa Mexicano, their Mexican Corn side is definitely my favourite. The corn is sweet and crispy, the tang of the citrus mixed with the a little sprinkle of ground red chili, the smoothness of the butter and sour cream topped with delicious Cotija cheese.

Although my version is minus the cotija, it's still as delicious. I would love to find cotija cheese in Dubai and if anyone knows where its available please let me know! I didn't use any cheese with this version, however if you cannot get cotija and you'd like to have it with cheese, you can try parmesan in its place.

I'm not sure how authentically Mexican this corn dish is, or if its even close to famous Mexican street food. Either way, it still earns top marks by my tastebuds. so, I hope you'll all enjoy it as much as me! Oh and I should mention that this is probably one of the easiest dishes on my blog, little to no culinary skills required.

Adapted from: Rosa Mexicano

Ingredients:

2 C fresh corn, husked and kernals removed or 1 tin of sweet corn

1 1/2 tbsp butter

1/3 C sour cream

juice of one lemon

1/4 tsp ground red chili powder

2 tbsp cojita cheese (if available)

salt to taste

Boil sweet corn in a small saucepan for 2 mins. Drain and place back into pan.